Jasmine Tea for the Avatards' Soul
by Crazichi123
Summary: Benefits of Jasmine Tea include, but are not limited to: Improved levels of energy, better concentration, and lower stress levels!  Read this series of one-shots all centered around a certain character of Avatar for a new, better you!  Iroh say's to!
1. The Ballad of Zuko

**Hey! This is a new project that I'm working on. I'm hoping it will help me in my writing with keeping the characters IC. So these are a series of one-shots, each one centered around a certain character of Avatar. My mind is open to new ideas and you are free to offer them. First up on the list is Zuko!**

"Umm, excuse me sir." a man muttered nervously on the floor of the ship as he bowed to the exiled prince in front of him. His fear only flared when the prince turned to glare back at him. They were following behind the Avatar, no more than a mile or two away. A tiny profile of the bison could be seen in the distance. The boat rocked vigorously with the powerful waves, foreshadowing Prince Zuko's reaction to Keigo's request.

"What is it you want Keigo?" The prince asked, annoyance evident in his voice. His crew was respectful, and always regarded him as 'prince' or 'sir', (even if most of them were double his age), but they only bowed when they implored a great favor.

"Uhh, well, I got this letter and, I was just kind of wondering, or rather, asking if-" he winced when he was interrupted by the prince's booming voice.

"Keigo, do not test my patience, for I have none." the prince commanded angrily, gritting his teeth. Keigo gulped, staring at the floor as he spoke.

"Well, yesterday when we were in port, before you saw the Avatar, a messenger hawk flew to me and it was a letter from my sister and she was- well, she fell in love and she's getting married." Keigo began to break out into a nervous sweat under the heat of the scarred teen's glare. "I was going to ask you yesterday but then you saw the Avatar and I never really got the chance so I went to your Uncle and he said to ask you so-"

"Get to the point Keigo."

"Well, the letter was an invitation to my sister's wedding, begging me to come, but her wedding is on the island of Saikai which is in the, um... other direction." his voice trailed off with the end of his sentence. He closed his eyes, nervously awaiting the prince's reaction.

"So, you expect me to turn this ship around, travel more than 40 miles the opposite way, and LOSE THE AVATAR, all for the sake of ONE CREWMEMEBER!" Keigo was really sweating now, and from more than just nervousness. Steam was coming from the prince's nose, and sparks of fire flashed from his fingertips threatiningly, quickly warming the room.

"This is very important to me and it would be great if I could see my family-"

"It would be great if I could see my family again too! But until we capture the Avatar, none of us will." Zuko took a deep breath and calmed down before turning away from Keigo.

"Return to your post." he commanded, dismissing him.

Keigo bowed respectfully and then ran out of the room, holding in his tears, and showing no emotion like every firenation child was taught.

Zuko looked out at the Avatar's bison in the distance. His ticket home.

_Many people thought Zuko was selfish, heartless, dishonorable._ . . _Maybe he was, Zuko figured he was too young to know for sure. _

Unfortunately, something inside of him made him feel guilt. Something about the crew staying faithful to him for years. Neglecting their families to help him find the Avatar. Taking his punishment and his pain for his mistakes onto themselves for the sake of loyalty. Zuko told himself he didn't care, it didn't matter, he came first, look out for number one. But his thoughts were contradicted when he woke up the next morning and gave the captain orders to set sail for Saikai island. The captain was surprised.

And when they arrived at the island and Zuko saw Keigo hugging his sister, he couldn't help but smile.

_Many people thought Zuko was weak, submisive, dishonorable. __Maybe he was, Zuko figured he was to young to know for sure. _

Uncle Iroh patted him on the back, and gave him a reassuring smile.

_He didn't quite know the type of man he wanted to be, or even if he'd live long enough to find out. He had no idea if he was supposed to be angry but driven, or caring and compliant. But while he was still young..._

"Hey Zuko! Can I visit my family!" a crew member shouted

"Yeah! Me too!" another agreed

Many similar cries were heard throughout the ship.

"Everyone, Shut Up and get back to work!"

_...he figured there was nothing wrong with stradling both sides._

**One character done, though I have no problem repeating characters, so if you have another idea for Zuko, feel free to share it with me as you should feel suggesting any character ideas! **

**FUN FACTS**

_**-Keigo means "one's respect" in Japanese. **_

-_**Saikai,**_ _**the name of the island, means "reunion" in Japanese. **_

_**-The island was previously named Ishago Island, which is just some cool sounding word I made up! **_

**Keep on Reading**


	2. Hell Hath No Fury Like A Brother Scorned

**Welcome to Chapter 2 of Jasmine Tea for the Avatards' Soul! Please read the AN at the end of the chapter! **

Ozai had everything, or so people thought. He had servants, power, and fortune beyond belief. He had everything that could make a man happy, but nothing that he truly desired. The things that really mattered to him in life, was given as a blessing to another man.

His brother; General Iroh.

He was the first born, heir to the throne, his parents' favorite. He was the better firebender, the better leader, the better son. It was a misfortunate really, being second born _and_ second best. He wondered what his life would've been like if the roles were reversed. If he was the first born, the heir, the favorite. Even when Ozai was able to take the thrown from him, Iroh still remained his happy old self.

Maybe this was why he favored Azula so much. . . pity . . . or empathy really. Maybe this was why he disliked his son. He was just like Iroh. First born son, an innocent, honest little boy. Heir to the thrown, even though Azula was a prodigy with a backbone and deserved it more. But what he loved about his son; his loyalty. No matter what he did, or how badly he treated him, his son would do anything for him. He was desperate for Ozai's love. In Zuko's eyes, Ozai's acceptance of him came first and foremost. And that's more than he could say about most things in his life. Most things seemed to gravitate towards Iroh.

Ozai laughed

"Your uncle has gotten to you; hasn't he." he joked.

"Yes...he has." Zuko replied.

Ozai frowned. His own son. Iroh truly did have to take everything from him.

**PLEASE REVIEW! I wrote this story as an exercise to help keep characters IC, to help develop my writing, and to show a side of the characters that fans don't usually see. So I NEED reviews since the whole point of the story is improving my writing through feedback. Please support me by giving me a tip or two on my writing! Oh, and that last scene was taken from the episode titled "The Day of Black Sun", when Zuko stood up to his father and told him he was going to join the Avatar. If you watch, you see that Ozai actually does frown when Zuko says he was influenced by his uncle, and that was what gave me the idea for this chapter!**

**Keep on Reading**


	3. Wipe My Tears, And The Walls May Crumble

**Here's chapter three!**

I refuse. I refuse to let him see me cry. The last time he saw me cry was when we were stuck in the crystal catacombs together.

And then he betrayed me.

But somehow, he was able to bring up the one thing that caused me more pain and turmoil than anything else. The one thing that caused sleepless nights and tears on my pillow. The one thing nobody else seemed to notice or care about, even though they all knew about it, and it brought me so much pain.

My Mother's death. As if he _knew_ me. Aang and Toph, two of my best friends. Sokka, my brother. Suki, a trusted ally. None of them noticed how much pain the incident truly brought me, and honestly, that wasn't the problem. They don't deserve to have my problems added onto their already burdened lives. I didn't _want_ to tell them about my pain because they have enough on their minds with the war going on (and the tragic life stories the war created for us). No, the problem wasn't the others.

I didn't _want_ to tell them about my troubles. The problem was, I didn't _have_ to tell **him** about my troubles. He knew, and even worst, he understood. . . somehow. And I minded. I **definitely** minded. He didn't deserve to know. Zuko, my sworn enemy, betrayer of my trust, _prince of the nation that murdered her. _He noticed. . . and he cared, he helped me _avenge_ her. He saw through the walls I put up as if they were transparent. And not just that, he _related. _He helped me through it, and somehow, it wasn't enough. I still wouldn't let him see me cry. He's caused too much pain for me to completely let down my walls for him, especially when I haven't even done so for companions that I've known for MUCH longer.

And then the day finally came. The Day of Sozin's Comet. The day he saved my life. And my walls came crashing down, no matter how transparent they were to him in the first place.

Tears filled my eyes as I bended the liquid from the soaked battlefield. I pressed the globe of water to his chest, and focused all my energy on one thing.

Returning a favor. . .

But it didn't work. He saved me, and I couldn't save him in return.

He died saving me.

And that's when I knew how much he cared.

I mourned until I heard a groan. I turned my head to him in relief and joy.

"Thank you Katara." he whispered.

"I'm the one who should be thanking you." I replied.

And I smiled. And I cried.

He was watching me, and I cried _right_ in front of him. . .

And it was ok.

**Ok, so there's some Zutara friendship here. Could be romance if you want. It's just showing how Katara didn't trust Zuko, so she put up a tough act and refused to cry in front of him, even after "The Southern Raiders" episode. But, once he saved her life, she completely trusted him and let her guard down by crying in front of him for the first time since his betrayal. Hope you like it! PLEASE REVIEW! I NEED to know what you guys think! Constructive Criticism is GREATLY appreciated!**

**Keep on Writing**


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